Maura Lerner

Maura Lerner is the higher-education reporter. Her reporting has been recognized by the National Press Club, the Society for Professional Journalists, the Minnesota Associated Press and the Frank Premack Public Affairs Journalism Award. Before joining the Star Tribune, Lerner was a senior producer for the MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour on PBS, and a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

With price tags that are double or triple those of public universities, many private schools say they're spending more than ever on financial aid — effectively slicing tuition in half for the average student.

Mark Coyle, just finishing his first year as athletic director, made only passing reference to the turmoil that began when a student accused multiple U football players of sexually assaulting her at a party.

Riverland Community College in Austin launched FlexPace, in which students take a series of six-week classes, working on their own timetable and taking online assessments to prove that they've mastered the material.

A University of Minnesota disciplinary panel has cleared four of the 10 Gophers football players who had been accused of sexual misconduct in the alleged assault on a female student in September. But penalties remain for the other six players.

Nearly 300 complaints of sexual assault were reported to Minnesota colleges or universities in 2015, and 79 resulted in disciplinary action greater than a warning, according to information made public under a new state law.